Conversations With a Genius- Fun Small Business Talk

Conversations With a Genius was created for Entrepreneurs!! We help small business owners become not so small business owners and we do it by chatting with Genius business rockstars and squeezing every drop of genius out of them all for your listening pleasure.

Today’s genius is Donald Thompson. Donald develops competitive and sustainable advantages for global companies, entrepreneurs and emerging leaders. As the CEO of a technology company, Donald dramatically grew his organization with no outside capital at an amazing trajectory until the company was acquired in 2014. Donald now heads the acquiring firm's PLM business for North America and serves on several Boards for universities, businesses and upstart companies. Donald is authoring his first book entitled, 'The Unlikely CEO,' due out in 2016.

Today’s genius is JV Crum III, JV is a business coach who helps entrepreneurs grow six and seven figure businesses. He’s a speaker, marketing expert, Huffington Post Columnist, best-selling author and host of the top-ranking Conscious Millionaire family of podcasts. JV is Founder of ConsciousMillionaire.com, a global coaching and wealth product business and has built and sold successful companies. He is also the Founder/Director of the non-profit Conscious World Foundation which provides training to youth aged 18-25 to become the next generation of conscious leaders worldwide.

Today’s genius is Greg Gibas. Greg has been fascinated with business and entrepreneurship his entire life. Originally born in Poland but grew up in Chicago. After he finished his Bachelor’s degree in management he traveled to Australia where he got his master’s degree in Marketing from Macquarie University in Sydney. After coming back home, he went on to start Office Goblins, an outsourcing company in the Philippines focused on B2B telemarketing. Over the last 5 years, his company has completed over 2 million phone calls on behalf of their clients. He’s also been a guest speaker at business events in his community, and occasionally teaches business classes as an adjunct professor at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. He has a no none-sense approach to business and in his spare time enjoys stand up comedy, live theater, and sushi.

Today’s genius is Justin McGill. Justin is the founder of LeadFuze, a B2B lead generation solution that finds leads and emails them on your behalf. He got his start in entrepreneurship in 2008 when he started a digital marketing agency that grew to 7 figures before stepping away in 2014. He now serves as an advisor to his team in place at the agency. He is nearly finished with his book, Self Made Marketer that teaches people how to build an agency and remove themselves from the work.

Today’s genius is Greg Hickman. Greg is the Founder of Mobile Marketing Engine, a mobile marketing agency and education company for small-to-medium sized businesses. He’s a blogger, podcaster and speaker and his work has been featured on Mobile Marketer, Mobile Marketing Watch, Target Marketing Magazine, Copyblogger and Social Media Examiner. His interest in mobile marketing led him to create a weekly podcast, Mobile Friendly which is featured on iTunes. He is also the author of The SMS Marketing Handbook and writes about entrepreneurship on his blog.

Today’s genius is Laura Roeder. Laura is the founder of Edgar, a new social media automation tool designed to prevent updates from going to waste. Since 2009, she's been teaching entrepreneurs how to harness the power of social media marketing and create their own fame at LKR Social Media.

Today’s genius is Richard Boureston. Richard has been copywriting and marketing for nearly 10 years working for companies like Newsmax. He currently helps companies find $5K, $10K and even $50k single transaction sales in their business. And is famous for his 115 Advertising Card Deck.

In today's conversation we discuss:

The 3 things you need to know to accurately communicate with anyone

Why should you be willing to call your customers and ask them for feedback about your business

Today’s genius is Joe Calloway. Joe helps business leaders and entrepreneurs make great companies even better. Joe has been a business author, consultant and speaker for 30 years and his client list reads like an international Who’s Who in business, ranging from companies like Coca Cola and IBM to Cadillac and American Express. Joe also works extensively with small to mid-sized business groups including franchisees, medical practices, law firms, and a range of professional services groups.

Today’s genius is Craig Simpson. Craig is an expert in the Direct Mail business and he specializes in generating prospects and customers through physical mail. He is Dan Kennedy’s “go-to-guy” for Dan and his clients when it comes to mailing lists and direct mail. Craig works with some of the world’s largest companies on direct mail including Indeed.com, LazydaysRV and Beachbody. Craig has sent out hundreds of millions of sales pieces, he currently sends out almost 300 mail campaigns per year and has sold well over $100-Million in products and services using direct mail.

In today's conversation we discuss:

The do’s and don’ts of direct mail marketing

Biggest marketing mistake revealed

What is every door direct and why is it so powerful?

Discover how to link what you’re selling to what your best customers are buying

Today’s genius is Johnny Lee Dumas. John is the founder & host of an amazing podcast Entrepreneur On Fire which just had its 1st million download month. John started this podcast in 2012, less than 3 years ago when he hired Jaime Tardy and launched his first podcast episode. Within 6 months of launch, Entrepreneur On Fire had reached 1 Million downloads. One year later Johnny launched Podcaster’s Paradise which lead to his first 100k month in net income. Entrepreneur on Fire was awarded best of iTunes 2013 and John has interviewed hundreds of guests including Tim Ferris and Shark Tank’s very own Barbara Corcoran, not to mention he is a heck of a nice guy- John, say hello to Genius Nation

Today’s genius is Frank Bria. Frank helps consultants and coaches turn their 6-figure practice into a 7-figure business. He has built and sold tech start ups as well as consulted for the largest international corporations in high tech, finance, and retail on 4 continents. He now takes what he used to teach the Fortune 500 and applies it to entrepreneurs looking to scale their businesses. He is a 3-time author, speaker, strategist, and host of the podcast, Scale to Success.

Today’s genius is Todd Tresidder. Todd is a former hedge fund manager who “retired” at age 35… 18 years ago. He’s the author of 5 books on personal finance and loves playing the money game like a kid loves playing Monopoly. His specialty is advanced retirement planning and advanced investment strategy to build wealth.

Today's Genius is Matt Miller, he spent the first 9 years of his career as an Air Force pilot, before entering the corporate world to work at both Abbott Laboratories and Valassis. While a top performer for both companies, his long term desire was to start a business and be his own boss. A good friend one day mentioned the gum ball machines he and his young daughters owned, and that conversation began a 10 year business quest that has brought Matt's company, School Spirit Vending, to the cutting edge of both the vending and school fundraising industries. Today, School Spirit Vending's Hassle-Free fundraising program is helping schools across the country raise money in it's own unique way.

Today's Genius is businessman and Life Coach, Aaron T. Walker Aaron has inspired many through his leadership, mentorship, and consistent pursuit of excellence. He enjoys helping others and believes experience is a great teacher. 35 years of entrepreneurship and marriage have given Aaron a wealth of experience. Aaron continues to reach new heights and broaden his perspective of the terrain by examining his experiences and growing from them.